Lucknow: Providing a chance to NEET candidates, the Allahabad High Court has allowed the admissions in Ayurveda, Unani Medical Colleges of Uttar Pradesh through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to continue till December 20th, 2018.

The court had earlier stayed till November 12 admissions in Ayurveda and Unani colleges through NEET on the basis of lowered percentage marks. The Centre, in consultation with the Uttar Pradesh government, had taken a decision to reduce the percentage for granting admission through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Now, responding to a bunch of petitions on the issue, Justice Vivek Chaudhary of the Lucknow bench directed the state government to start filling up the remaining Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) vacancies, which are lying unoccupied despite the NEET process already being over.

The court, however, made it clear that the NEET merit should not be lowered any further.

The court passed the order on the writ petition filed by PK Chaudhary and others. It was submitted on behalf of the petitioners that there is no age limit provided under law for admission to Ayurveda and Unani medical colleges, but while taking admission through NEET, the age limit is 25 years.

“Though there is no requirement of having English subject in Class XII, such a condition is imposed in NEET. Similarly, for admission in Unani colleges, the law makes the Urdu language compulsory but no test with regard to the knowledge of Urdu is made a condition in NEET,” the petitioners pleaded.

Thus, a large number of qualified students have remained out of the examination process for Ayurveda colleges and no student gets a chance for Unani medical colleges.

Citing these reasons, the petitioners challenged the admission procedure through the NEET with regard to the Ayurveda and Unani medical colleges

Besides, the Centre, in consultation with the Uttar Pradesh government, had taken a decision to reduce the percentage for granting admission through NEET.

On November 2, after going through all the submissions and government’s decision; the court had stayed admissions in Ayurveda and Unani colleges through NEET on the basis of lowered percentage marks.

Now, during a recent hearing on the case, the state government submitted that in past few decades, a large number of students appeared in Class Xll, who passed the examination by mass copying, therefore, state of Uttar Pradesh should be granted opportunity to fill up the seats by making a preliminary examination to weed out the incompetent students and find out the meritorious ones.

Viewing the said request as legit, the court has permitted the selection of only NEET-qualified medical aspirants for AYUSH courses in UP-based Ayurveda, Unani medical colleges. The court directed,

“Only those students, who have already qualified NEET, will be granted admission in preference…

… After the said process, the remaining seats shall be filled up by the state government by finding out the meritorious students through the process, which the state deems fit.”

The court further directed the state government to complete the admission process and ensure that colleges get their quota of students on or before December 15.

“In case, the state government fails to find out such students and provide them to colleges by December 15, it shall be open for AYUSH colleges to take admissions of students as per the directions given in the order of the Karnataka high court, from December 16 onwards. The colleges shall complete such exercise, if required, between December 16 and 20. No admission shall be taken after December 20.”

Last month, the Karnataka HC had allowed the state government to admit Non-NEET qualified students, in case it fails to receive enough applications to fill up all the vacant AYUSH seats in the state.